Congratulations to the Panic Motorsports team consisting of Steve Bertok, Dan Tiley, Jason Owensby and Alex Gaines for bringing home the win for Panic and Race Engineering today. The car performed flawlessly, and the drivers didn't put a wheel wrong!
Posted by Danny Steyn (Member # 7356) on 10-31-201005:43 AM:

Awesome result - 6 lap victory in SM and 8th overall. Fantastic driver line up, and I know how much time effort and money Steve put into preparing the car. Congrats to the drivers, the crew, the wives and all who made it happen. Winnning the 13hrs is a BIG DEAL!
Posted by Gatoratty (Member # 15983) on 10-31-201008:16 AM:

Could not have happened to a nicer or more deserving group of people. As Danny said, it was a huge effort undertaken by Steve and Becca. The driver line up was one with exceptional talent and the prep next to none as evidenced by the result. Its always great when good things happern to good people who work hard and put their heart and soul into the sport. Just confirms that there is no better group than Panic Motorsports for meeting your Spec Miata support needs. Race Engineering Motors and Panic Motorsports prep are for sure a winning combination.
Posted by Jarhead (Member # 4547) on 10-31-201009:34 AM:

Congrats!
Posted by Dave Lewis (Member # 1572) on 10-31-201010:16 AM:

quote:Originally posted by Terry Whitlock: Could not have happened to a nicer or more deserving group of people. As Danny said, it was a huge effort undertaken by Steve and Becca. The driver line up was one with exceptional talent and the prep next to none as evidenced by the result. Its always great when good things happern to good people who work hard and put their heart and soul into the sport. Just confirms that there is no better group than Panic Motorsports for meeting your Spec Miata support needs. Race Engineering Motors and Panic Motorsports prep are for sure a winning combination.

I don't know what happened to my provisional results sheet, but I have the 11th hour sheet.

19th overall and 1st in SSM was the car of DiMarco/DiMarco/Reading. 22nd overall, 2nd SSM was Henwood/Henwood/Maerz/Zette. I think at the end there was only one SSM ahead of the car I was in though, and we finished 24th overall, 8th in SM.

We tried running some Goodyear RS-A's on an "Old School" '97 (4.10, old sway bar up front), and they did not work well.
Posted by willy_1959 (Member # 3255) on 11-01-201007:06 AM:

It was nice to meet you and congratz on the Win.Well Done!

The driver I was crewing for would have given you a run, had he not lost a trans. Advanced Autosports had him back on track in less than 45 minutes, but thats a LOOONG time in a race lol
Posted by Mitch Reading (Member # 1769) on 11-01-201007:20 AM:

As always, an awesome race... THANK YOU North Carolina Region!

Great weather and zero full course cautions. I still think these long enduros are the best "bang for your buck" SM racing.

We won SSM, back and forth with the Henwood guys for most of the day. BIG thanks to the Mitchum Motorsports guys, in and out of the pits as efficiently as possible and zero mechanical issues.

Mitchum also ran an MX-5 in STU in 100% MX-5 cup trim. @ a 2:15 lap time in pure MX-5 trim, those cars look like a hoot!
Posted by Mitch Reading (Member # 1769) on 11-01-201007:21 AM:

The Bertok car, SM winner, was on rails... get me some of that power. Well done guys.
Posted by George Munson (Member # 6376) on 11-01-201009:18 AM:

Congrats Steve! I know how much time and effort you and your family put into this. Now you can take that well deserved rest. Posted by mghenwood (Member # 23048) on 11-01-201009:30 AM:

Congrats to the Mitchum car on their SSM win, it was a good battle throughout the day. We had a few hiccups, but overall we had a blast. It was 3 of our drivers first time at VIR, and 2 of our drivers first night stints. I think that all of us loved racing the track.

Thank you North Carolina Region for a well run event. We look forward to next years.

Congrats to all the teams. It was a very special honor to be involved with the Panic Motorsports effort.

What a first class operation. Tommy Badger and the crew were awesome, as always. Tommy has to be the best crew chief in motor sports. The pit stops were flawless, as was the pre race prep by the Panic team.

What a driver line up. All four of the drivers are either past of current champions in Spec Miata. They all rocked it all day long with not a wheel wrong. Way To Go Guys!

The Carbotech brakes were awesome as always. Thanks to Carbotech for their commitment to excellence.

The engine was the same engine that has been run all year long in the 90 car. Just a quick refresh and she is ready to go again.

Thanks again to Steve and Becca and everyone that made this possible. It is an honor to be involved with such a great group of people.
Posted by Mitch Reading (Member # 1769) on 11-01-201010:47 AM:

Was the #90 car a '99 or '01?
Posted by Blake Thompson (Member # 1571) on 11-01-201010:56 AM:

Blake, I wish I could say we slept in, we were doing all that "last minute touch up" stuff. The first drivers meeting I have missed in my whole career, why this one? DOH!

We poured everything we had into this years race, with literally a years worth of prep and planning. I have a ton of thanks to dish out.

Thanks to all the businesses behind us, Race Engineering power, Carbotech brakes to whoa it down, JO Motorsports for the transmission, Retro Solutions lighting and a steady flow of parts from Mazdacomp.

Our drivers all did a fantastic job, only two minor offs all race (raises hand), stayed out of trouble and stuck to the strategy. Jason and Alex, first class wheelmen, period. Dan Tiley worked the chassis to A+ condition and it never faded the whole race through. The drivers get the credit and pictures, but in this race in particular, the next group deserve it.

All the parts and driving in the world don't matter without the crew. Thanks to Becca for listening to all my planning for the past year and the behind the scenes work. Jonathan Black busted his tail for months at the shop, as well as at the track. Tom Badger called an incredible race strategy and kept us on the winning pace (which is slower than you might think). The rather large group behind us during all handled their tasks 100% and it showed. Roger, Ryan, James, Josh, Dave, Nihal, John, Todd, Dan and our new buds Stephen and Sterling. We had to hold the car to make minimum time on 4 stops because the crew worked so fast. Driver change, fuel and FOUR tires in exactly 2 minutes??? That's what I'm talking about!!

NC region and the cast of hundreds that work for free, hats off to you! We love this event, and sure hope it happens again next year. I think the last minute entries should help with that decision!

Mitch, the car is an '01, r'plated and ballasted, despite what some folks might have thought Thanks for the words, it's great to race with so many top shelf operations, including yours. Your SSM car was no slouch, congrats on that effort!

Lastly, all the other teams that competed need a high five. Racing courtesy was the order of the day for the most part and I think a well seasoned bunch of folks understand it's a long race and drove it that way.

Thank you for all the support and kind words, see you guys next year!
Posted by PEATMOSS (Member # 3362) on 11-01-201007:01 PM:

Great Car- Great people - Great RE power, and probably some of the best drivers in South East!Congrats to all at PANIC! Posted by Alex Gaines (Member # 16095) on 11-01-201007:23 PM:

Wow, I would have to say that this was one of the best and most fun racing weekends I have ever had! We all worked together as a team and the planning and prep that went into this was unbelievable( especially by Bertok who I hear had to change the locks on his doors at home ). I can't say enough about Bob and the RE power/reliability. We never even had to pop the hood! The car setup was spot on from qualifying till the end. A true testament to the prep level of Panic Motorsports. Finally a big shout out to my teammates (Owenby, Bertok, and Tiley) and a huge THANK YOU to our crew chief Tommy and all the crew/family involved.
Posted by Jason Owenby (Member # 1394) on 11-01-201009:03 PM:

What a great event, 13hrs of pure fun.Big thanks to steve and Becca Bertok of Panic Motorsports. They prepped a great car and every thing else it took to win. Big thanks to our crew chief Tom Badger and crew,no one else can keep us throttle happy drivers in line that long,and make great pit stops.The RE engine was spot on all the way to the end as always. My Co-drivers Alex,Dan and steve where spot on every stint. Thanks Agian to all the crew and workers who stuck it out for 13hrs.
Posted by Dan Tiley (Member # 3601) on 11-01-201010:27 PM:

And here I always thought that the 13Hr was 'just another race'. No sir....

What an honor it was to be part of the Panic Motorsports team for this race. Steve led the preparation efforts starting right after last year's event, and called upon just about every resource you could ever imagine in the SM Community and beyond. To prove his absolute dedication to winning this race, Steve gave up a very legitimate shot at winning a third straight Carolina Cup Pro Series Championship by electing NOT to run our 13 Hr car in the final race of the series... A race that this car would have likely finished on the podium. He wasn't willing to risk the car with the 13 Hr only a week away.

I can't say enough about the class of both Steve and Becca Bertok. The respect they've earned over the years had people lining up to be part of the crew for this race. They easily rounded up our entire alottment of 12 people all eagar to help out and had an overflow of friends on the other side of the fence as well.

Besides Steve and Jonathan Blacks impeccable car prep back at Panic, the RE power was stout to say the least, and it never missed a beat all day long. As for driving, Alex Gaines dug us out of a big hole early on when we started from DFL, while Steve and Jason built up a nice lead. By the time I was handed the keys, my only instructions were: 'Don't wreck the car!' ...Fair enough!

Badgers calls in the pits were spot on.... The guy's an absolute pro. He managed to stick to his strategy despite all of the 'help' from the peanut gallery and all the while kept his guys pumped up for every stop. I'm still blown away by the 4 tires/fuel/driver/windshield stop they made with time to spare! I wish we had video!

Overall a great day on all levels... This is just an awesome event. All of the competitors fought hard, but raced smart at the same time. I've been in plenty of sprint races that wiped out more cars before T1 than the 13Hr did the entire race!

With that I offer a huge congrats to everyone involved: Drivers, Crew, Family & Friends and of course our SCCA volunteers, who were enjoying the racing throughout the day so much, they elected NOT to throw a full course yellow so that they could take a break!

I hope to see you all again next year!
Posted by TimBuck (Member # 41) on 11-02-201010:19 AM:

Anyone have any comments on the Mazda2 that raced?

Thanks for the PM Vick! I knew about the damage. I was just hoping to hear from someone who may have followed it around for a bit. Curious about how it looked from the outside (was it Rabbit-like on three wheels?).

quote:Originally posted by TimBuck: Anyone have any comments on the Mazda2 that raced?

Thanks for the PM Vick! I knew about the damage. I was just hoping to hear from someone who may have followed it around for a bit. Curious about how it looked from the outside (was it Rabbit-like on three wheels?).

Sorry about your trans trouble.

I passed it a few times and it looked like it was getting along well enough. It was dented fairly early so I don't know how bad the suspension was but it definitely had the west coast 3 wheel motion.
Posted by Mitch Reading (Member # 1769) on 11-02-201002:42 PM:

Why did you guys, the Bertok car, start dead last? One of our team cars did so as well, they sure had fun.
Posted by panic motorsports (Member # 724) on 11-02-201004:43 PM:

Some idiot missed the drivers meeting. First one of my...er.....his career!
Posted by Dan Tiley (Member # 3601) on 11-02-201006:03 PM:

quote:Originally posted by Mitch Reading:Why did you guys, the Bertok car, start dead last? One of our team cars did so as well, they sure had fun.

quote:Originally posted by panic motorsports:Some idiot missed the drivers meeting. First one of my...er.....his career!

We had fuel mileage calculated out to 3 decimal places.... Not so much the case on the start time of the Driver's Meeting.
Posted by racerfink (Member # 1886) on 11-02-201008:19 PM:

quote:Originally posted by TimBuck: Anyone have any comments on the Mazda2 that raced?

I was just hoping to hear from someone who may have followed it around for a bit. Curious about how it looked from the outside (was it Rabbit-like on three wheels?).

I think I was the first car that passed it when it came back on track from being pulled out of the tires. It might as well have been on three wheels, for all the good the right rear was doing at that point. Looked pretty sharp out there, but I can't help but think about how really good it would look with some 8" wide slicks and some old school fender flares!